Privacy, Regulations, and Cybersecurity

CHAPTER 20Welcome to the Future! Now, Go Home!

We desire to bequeath two things to our children; the first one is roots, the other one is wings.

—Sudanese proverb

I wrote Cybersecurity Program Development for Business: The Essential Planning Guide in 2018. The closing chapter of that book was titled “Living Cybersecure,” and in it, I emphasized the need for readers to stay informed and current. The topics I wanted them to focus on were:

• Scientific developments: What's going on in the cybersecurity and information technology fields?
• Regulatory developments: What are the different legislative bodies enacting that affects your cybersecurity program?

Today, 2018 seems very far away, both in time and in how the world looked.

This book is being completed in the early summer of 2020 in New York City. We've been locked up for three months trying to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, with no clue about second and third possible waves.

Last night, there were riots in many major cities across the country, the result of the police killing of Mr. George Floyd in Minneapolis. Some rioters took advantage of the demonstrations to loot stores, including the one on the ground floor of my apartment building.

Meanwhile the daily news reads like a bad science fiction novel: apocalyptic, confusing, and distressing. Foreign governments are actively engaging in cyberwarfare, unleashing worldwide campaigns of misinformation and voter manipulation.

In the midst of all this—and because of it!—with ...